In the treacherous and deadly world of Elden Ring, having a strong build can be the difference between life and death. Among the many setups you could come up with, the bleed build stands out as one of the most devastating.

This guide will walk you through creating the most optimised bleed build in Elden Ring, allowing you to deal massive damage and conquer any foe with (very relative) ease.

WARNING: The keystone of this build is only found in Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
WARNING 2: As the game receives balance patches, this might become outdated, but at the time of writing, late June 2024, it’s still viable and overpowered.

Elden Ring Bleed Build, Shadow of the Erdtree edition

Main Attack: the Impenetrable Thorns spell

Impenetrable Thorns spell
Impenetrable Thorns spell

The heart of this build is the Impenetrable Thorns sorcery you can find in the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. This powerful spell shoots out thorns from the ground, causing severe bleed damage. At point-blank range, all the thorns will hit the same spot, dealing ridiculous amounts of damage.

To obtain this spell, you should follow these steps:

  1. Teleport to the Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace in the Shadow Keep.
  2. Find the Lever: From the teleport point, follow the path to the right until you find a lever. Use it to unlock a path.
  3. Platforming Challenge: Begin platforming through the center, jumping up and climbing the statue until you find a small opening.
  4. Fall off the ledge near the opening. Impenetrable Thorns can be looted from the corpse by the wall behind you.

Catalyst: Maternal Staff

To maximize the bleed buildup, you’ll need the Maternal Staff as your main weapon. This item boasts incredibly high arcane scaling, significantly increasing your bleed damage.

Offhand Weapon: Staff of the Guilty

For additional damage, equip the Staff of the Guilty in your offhand. It significantly improves thorn sorceries, so it’s a great addition to the build.

This staff can be farmed from the monk-like enemies with blazing staves. A frequently recommended farming location is in Liurnia of the Lakes, southwest of the Eastern Tableland. You’re looking for a place between a pallisade and a cliff.

You’ll know you’re in the right spot if there is a staff-bearing monk accompanied by a few fiery slugs.

Armor and Accessories

Armor Sets

Equip pieces that boost your damage, particularly with thorn sorceries. Recommended sets include:

  • Alberich Set will boost thorn sorceries
  • Rakshasa Set.increases both the damage you deal and the damage you take

Talismans

To further amplify your power, use the following talismans:

  • Shard of Alexander: Increases the attack power of skills.
  • Graven-Mass Talisman: Enhances sorcery damage.

Stat Allocation

For this build, focus on the following stats:

  • Faith and Intelligence: just as much as you need to meet requirements
  • Arcane: Invest heavily in Arcane to maximize your bleed damage.

Conclusion

Once all the pieces are in place, unleashing the Impenetrable Thorns at point-blank range (or as close as you can get) will shred most enemies to pieces quickly and relatively easily.

Given how much more difficult as a video game Shadow of the Erdtree is compared to the base ER, you’ll appreciate the extra oomph.

Happy hunting!